{"product_id":"black-caesars-and-foxy-cleopatras-a-history-of-blaxploitation-cinema","title":"BLACK CAESARS AND FOXY CLEOPATRAS: A HISTORY OF BLAXPLOITATION CINEMA","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"UTF-8\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe definitive account of Blaxploitation cinema—the freewheeling, often shameless, and wildly influential genre—from a distinctive voice in film history and criticism\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIn 1971, two films grabbed the movie business, shook it up, and launched a genre that would help define the decade. Melvin Van Peebles’s \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eSweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, an independently produced film about a male sex worker who beats up cops and gets away, and Gordon Parks’s \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eShaft\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, a studio-financed film with a killer soundtrack, were huge hits, making millions of dollars. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eSweetback \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003eupended cultural expectations by having its Black rebel win in the end, and \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eShaft\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e saved MGM from bankruptcy. Not for the last time did Hollywood discover that Black people went to movies too. The Blaxploitation era was born.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWritten by film critic Odie Henderson, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eBlack Caesars and Foxy Cleopatras\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e is a spirited history of a genre and the movies that he grew up watching, which he loves without irony (but with plenty of self-awareness and humor). Blaxploitation was a major trend, but it was never simple. The films mixed self-empowerment with exploitation, base stereotypes with essential representation that spoke to the lives and fantasies of Black viewers. The time is right for a reappraisal, understanding these films in the context of the time, and exploring their lasting influence.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"book depot","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47173381521666,"sku":null,"price":19.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0017\/0904\/7843\/files\/image_bda16c37-10d7-49ca-876e-3f11ca5fa3ac.jpg?v=1766987433","url":"https:\/\/thirdeyebag.com\/products\/black-caesars-and-foxy-cleopatras-a-history-of-blaxploitation-cinema","provider":"Thirdeyebag","version":"1.0","type":"link"}